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Al-Assad tells Egyptian magazine rebels "will not win"

President Bashar al-Assad has warned that the opposition will not succeed in toppling his regime and lashed out at Syria's neighbours, accusing them of arming the rebels, according to excerpts from a rare interview released Friday, dpa reported.

"The insurgents are practising terrorism. They have no popularity inside society... They will not win in the end," al-Assad told Egypt's the semi-official Al Ahram Al Arabi magazine.

The interview is the first with an Egyptian publication in three years for the Syrian leader facing an unprecedented uprising and mounting pressure from countries such as Egypt to step down. It is to be published in full on Saturday.

"Change cannot be made by removing heads of the regime or by foreign intervention," al-Assad says.

"Of course, the resolution will take time. However, the door of dialogue is still open."

Referring to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, al-Assad said: "They are providing terrorists with arms and money in the hope of repeating the Libyan pattern... Qataris were quicker in stoking violence."

Turkey, he said, has "lost a lot" for taking the side of the opposition in the 19-month conflict.

"This government realizes well where it has placed itself together with the Turkish interests and national security."

Al-Assad's remarks were published a day after the opposition said that at least 250 people were killed across Syria. It also came as the opposition reported fierce fighting on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, the northern city of Aleppo and the central province of Homs.

Information filtering out of Syria is hard to verify, as the government has barred most foreign media from restive areas.